Yamato Takigawa
Yamato Takigawa '(瀧川大和, ''Takigawa Yamato) is the former Captain of the 1st Division and the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13. He was imprisoned by Kaguro, a Togabito that escaped and took over the Gotei 13. Yamato was named after the legendary prince Yamato Takeru. Ever since he was a human, Yamato had a strong desire of training martial arts and in swordsman arts. After his death, his Konsō was performed by Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. After it, he dedicated his "life" to one day be as strong as him. For hundreds of years, he trained hardly. After Genryūsai's death with a disease contracted in the Human World, he candidated himself to the next Captain-Commander. Appearance Yamato is a very tall and built man. He is the oldest Captain of the Gotei 13. He's got small blue eyes, with the left one closed because of a scar. He has several of them throughout his body, but the deepest is the one on his eye and the one crossing his nose horizontally. He has grey hair, which makes small antennae-like hair strings on the right side of his head. He has a big grey beard that reaches his mid-torso. He dons the standard Captain outfit. He holds his Zanpakutō in front of him, in a similar style to Mayuri Kurotsuchi. When he was young, Yamato had dark blue, messy hair. He wore a blue and white hooded jacket. Personality Unlike Yamamoto, he has a more liberal look to things. He is respected both by his position as Captain-Commander and by his libreal side of his. They consider him "impenetrable", because of his strength and by the security he ensured to Soul Society. Unfortunately, he was defeated and imprisoned, renndering him useless for the time being. As stated by him, even though he is more open-minded than previous Captain-Commander, he will have no mercy nor problem in killing anyone that interferes with his law. Due to his size and capabilities, his state of mind and his beliefs he is, by far, the person with the biggest presence in all of Soul Society. When he was young, he was a hot-headed, excited boy that was eager to learn, but even though he was extremely energetic, he had big respect to his superiors and idols. Powers and Abilities '''Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Ya mato, as the current Captain-Commander, has over 1,000 years of battle experience in almost every skill. His most trained one is the swordsman art. He has great skill and is the Captain with the most skill in this style of fighting. Few hope to cross blades with him. It is even said that he does not unsheath his sword in a fight, but it is a mere illusion, because of his speed. He is proficient with the style Idayō '(居合道, ''Iaidō), in which he quickly unsheathes his sword, cuts the enemy and sheaths it imediatelly. *'''Kendō: His proficinecy with this style of fighting seems to be the best within all of Soul Society. His strength is the greatest of all with this fighting style. He gained the title of Tetsuwan no Yamato '(鉄腕, ''Yamato of Iron Arm). :*'''Ten Kōgeki (天攻撃, Strike of the Heavens): Using Kendō, Yamato is able of cutting the enemy and killing him in one strike. This technique is so powerful that it distorts the space in the place of the cut. Vast Spiritual Power: As the second oldest living Shinigami of this generation, Yamato has developed his spiritual power to a point in which it is hard, even for a Captain to withstand the pressure exerted by his reiatsu. He stated that he never expected to surpass Yamamoto's level in reiatsu. He once accidentally caused a fire in the SRDI with the energy outburst. The spiritual power's color is blue. Kidō Master: Even though its use is rare during combat, it was shown that Yamato is great using both Binding and Destructive Spells. His best invention so far is in this field. Since it is hard for him to land a Kidō attack during battle, he developed a tehnique in which he casts the spell and infuses it with his sword. In the moment he lands a hit on the enemy with his blade, the technique activates and attacks. He calls this Kijin '(鬼刃, ''Demon Blade). '''Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Even without a weapon, Yamato is the most feared Shinigami using Hakuda techniques. He is able to break several bones of an enemy with a single punch. He was able to destroy an entire Hollow with a single hit in the middle of its mask. It is hard to make a comparison of in which type of combat he is more proficient: if it is Hakuda or Swordsmanship. Shunpo Expert: Even though he is not the best using Flash Steps, Yamato uses it very effectively. He is not the fastest and his ability has smaller reach than other Captains', but his most remarkable use of it is the strategic side of it. *'Senka '(閃花, Flash Blossom): The level of Flash Steps Yamato uses showed to be enough to be able to use Senka with relative ease. He was able to kill a mid-level Arrancar with a single strike. Immense Durability: Despite his age, he revealed himself as the Captain with extreme endurance, being able to resist several cuts that could disable a normal Captain-level Shinigami. Zanpakutō Yōgan-shitsu (溶岩室, Chamber of Lava): It's a big katana, with the same size of Ichio Kurosaki's first sword. This is due to his height. Compared relatively with his body, it is average. It's got a solid gold tsuba, shaped like a cog. Its handle is blue. *'Shikai': It is released by the command "Melt the unworthy" (ふさわしくないを溶かす, Fusawashikunai o tokasu). :Shikai's Special Ability: After Yamato releases his Zanpakutō, the sword glows red and starts morphing. Boiling sounds start to be heard and, when the glow disappears, it shows a blade made out of lava. Its main ability is to control and create lava. Its biggest strong point is the destructive power of lava. Its weakness is the speed of lava. :* Tatsukushi '(竜串, ''Dragon Spit): Yamato releases several globs of lava of various sizes at the target. The technique can also be manipulated to block places and narrow exits using the hardening process of lava to prevent a target from escaping. :* '''Kazan no Chūkaku (火山の中核, Volcano Core): This technique creates a lava geyser that emerges from the soil, and advances directly against the opponent. :* Kazan no Oni '(火山の鬼, ''Volcano Demon): The sword expels a large amount of lava which quickly solidifies into multiple boulders of molten rock that are fired towards the target with tremendous force. :* '''Kagutsuchi Isshiki: Yūreikai (迦具土一式・幽霊鎧, Tool Earth Lord First Form: Ghost Armor): His only defensive technique during Shikai. It is actually part of his Bankai and was the first technique revealed during his training for Bankai. It creates a ribcage with lava-like reiatsu around Yamato that protects him from attacks. It was able to resist a Bankai's attack. It also melts whatever it touches. It is especially lethal against close-range enemies, since direct attacks will burn the enemy. *'Bankai': Kagutsuchi Tsuichiki: Oni Futago-ro (迦具土終式・鬼双子炉, Tool Earth Lord Final Form: Demon Twin Furnace): Said to be the strongest technique in all of Soul Society, Kagutsuchi's release was said to be able to crack the floor of all of Seireitei, and even the furthest places would suffer damage. It also created strong winds. In the Captain test, Yamato had to show the technique in a forest far away from Rukongai, so he was able not to cause damage to the population. :Bankai's Special Ability: According to Japanese beliefs, Kagutsuchi is the god of fire. This technique is said to be his strongest. Yamato's Bankai makes him gain two swords like his Shikai, one to control each part of his Bankai. He creates two seletons with lava-like reiatsu all around it, with entirely different sides that are conjoined along their spine, each with a distinct pair of arms and face. One of these faces has elongated canine teeth in its upper jaw bracket and a single horn protruding from its forehead, whilst the other has similarly elongated canine teeth in its lower jaw bracket instead, which in turn has two tusks growing from this jaw as well. The right hand of each side wields an undulating blade. :Its greatest capability is not the destructive power, but the fact that the technique itself can improve Yamato's technique's power. It does, although, require a enormous amount of effort from his part. It was also only revealed when it was still a bit immature. :It was never revealed during his current Captain-Commander time. It was vaguely rumored that with Yamato's current skills, he could kill a Captain with a single hit of his Bankai. Trivia *He is voiced by the seiyu Taiten Kusunoki.